PBS Strikes Deal For U.S. Rights To ‘The Great British Bake Off’

PBS has struck a deal to pick up the U.S. broadcast rights to the BBC’s hit series The Great British Bake Off.

Hosted by Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc, The Great British Bake Off follows 13 amateurs competing in baking competitions under the steely eyes of judges Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry. The series is produced by Love Productions and has been a consistent ratings hit for the BBC, having recently moved from BBC Two to flagship channel BBC One.

This marks the second major US deal that has been struck for The Great British Bake Off. Broadcast network CBS previously took the format rights and produced a short-lived US version of the show titled The American Baking Competition. The series proper, which is being re-titled The Great British Baking Show by PBS, will debut on the public service broadcaster on Sunday December 28th at 8/7c.

“From Julia Child to Jacques Pepin to Martha Stewart, PBS has had a long history of presenting fun and educational cooking shows to the American viewer, and The Great British Baking Show continues that tradition,” said PBS’ Beth Hoppe. “This series encourages contestants to succeed, emphasizing warmth and humor over humiliation and intimidation. We’re proud to share this delicious and hilarious series with our audience.”

“We are delighted that PBS has decided to broadcast The Great British Baking Show after its stellar success in the U.K., where it’s known as ‘The Great British Bake Off.’ We have watched the series grow into a great show full of surprising bits of cooking information that, once learned, are never forgotten”, added series co-creators Richard Mckerrow and Anna Beattie.

“It also has an essential generosity and good-heartedness that makes it exceptional among competitive formats. You feel that everyone involved wants the best outcome; even though they know they have to be steely in their final judgements. We’re very pleased it is coming to America”, they continued.

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